Kayaking in Monterrey Bay

I recently spent some hours on the water - kayaking in Monterey Bay. It was a day with a perfectly gray morning and temperature, and a very gentle swell. I forgot my binoculars this time (which possibly contributed to drawing more) and took my "water" sketch kit consisting of a PVC support board, stone paper sketchbook (connected to each other with a rubber band), and a plastic mechanical pencil with a chisel lead - on a string, also connected to my board. 

There were several beautiful pods of sea otters, lots of sea lions jumping out of the water (at first I thought they were dolphins), and quite a few curious harbor seals. Tons of birds: brown pelicans, oystercatchers, double-crested cormorants, pushing brandt cormorants off the rock,  and some snowy plovers up close! Oh - and seagulls, so many seagulls. 

There were several types of jellyfish - notably the Purple-striped jelly (Chrysaora Colorata) - needless to say that I kept my hands out of the water while we were nearby! 

Here are my sketches as they looked right there in Monterey:

I had more pages with some sketches so "abrupt" that I did not even take pictures of them - but ended up joyfully adding color later at home - this is how watercolor and gouache act on stone paper:

Sketching in a Kayak

I am getting ready to give a talk at the Edmonds Sketcher Fest - titled "Extreme Travel Sketching: What to Bring and How to Survive" - and I will be walking about all sorts of unusual places where I sketched - including while in a kayak!

And this week I had a wonderful opportunity to spend some time on the water - sketching from a sit-on-top kayak at the Elkhorn Slew by the Pacific Ocean. I saw so many birds! Cormorants eating close by, and pelicans of two different kinds pass very close. Harbor seals popping up right by the paddle. And a growing population of sea otters - which is such a joy to see!

Sketchbook #100: Drawing while kayaking

I had a great time drawing people, otters, landscape and little creatures while sitting in my single-person kayak on a guided tour. Great times! Water-resistant paper, pencil and salty water on top.